Kpop is no longer just for Korea. In fact, the Hallyu Wave is spreading fast around the world. Asia in particular has been hit HARD by Kpop fever. Here are some KPOP dynamic in every country, even outside South Korea:
1. Singapore
This little country has been visited by a lot of KPOP idols/acts, including all the top one in the industry, eg: BTS, Girls generation, TWICE, Big Bang, EXO, and many more.
2. Japan
Without a doubt Japan is the biggest hub for Kpop activity outside of Korea. You know it’s a big deal when artists will release their own albums and singles entirely in Japanese. Yes, sometimes this happens with albums in English, but keep in mind that English is used internationally while Japanese is really only used in Japan. The activities of 2pm, Big Bang, and Girls’ Generation are all shinning examples of how important the Japanese market is for Kpop.
3. Hong Kong
It isn't a surprise that KPOP is big in HONG kong, just look at all the airport fancam in HK airport, and you can see how many fans were willing to wait in the airport just to see a glimpse of their favorite idols. It is so popular that even inkigayo, music bank or MAMA has been held there.
4. Taiwan
5. Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand
Most of the youtube views, twitter comment and buzz about KPOP comes from this countries. Since the late 1990s, an increasing amount of Korean popular cultural content including television dramas, movies, pop songs and their associated celebrities have gained immense popularity across East and Southeast Asian countries. News media and trade magazines have recognized the rise of Korean popular culture in Asia by dubbing it the ‘Korean wave’ (Hallyu in Korean). The Associated Press reported in March 2002: ‘Call it “kim chic”. All things Korean–from food and music to eyebrow-shaping and shoe styles–are the rage across Asia, where pop culture has long been dominated by Tokyo and Hollywood’ (Visser, 2002). According to Hollywood Reporter, ‘Korea has transformed itself from an embattled cinematic backwater into the hottest film market in Asia’ The growing popularity of Korean pop culture has more implications than simply earning foreign currency, especially considering that the country has had some diplomatic friction with its neighbours in the past decades.
BoA, who made the cover of the French Le Monde in July 2002 as an icon of cultural exchange between Korea and Japan, was invited to the two countries’ summit conference in June 2003 in Tokyo (Macintyre, 2002). In all, Koreans have heartily welcomed the fruits of the Korean wave in the midst of economic recovery from the 1997 economic crisis, and the subsequent International Monetary Fund (IMF)-directed economic restructuring, which they often refer to as ‘national humiliation’.
6. Europe
Hallyu may have been building for over two decades, but it’s only been five to ten years since k-pop entered the global scene and won hearts with its production values, addictive tunes, and slick choreography. It’s no surprise why white girls in AMWF relationships are often big fans of K-pop. There’s even large communities who support AMWF porn these days. During the early years in June 2011, Paris saw two sell-out concerts featuring flagship groups of SM like Girl’s Generation, Super Junior and SHINee. The concert drew over 14,000 fans, screaming and singing along with the Korean lyrics. This was the first large-scale K-pop concert in Europe, and it gave them the confidence to take the much-anticipated plunge in the European market according to SM Entertainment CEO, Kim Young-Min. SM Entertainment is just one of the many agencies that handle everything from recruitment of the stars to music production. K-pop success in Europe is no accident. The South Korean government invested millions of dollars into the ministry of culture, especially K-pop following the Asian financial crisis in 1998. This is popularly referred to as the South Korean government’s Soft Power push. A study released by the University of London said that South Korea has seen an estimated return of $5 for every $1 they spend on K-pop.
7. America
K-pop has had a tentative foothold in the States for a while now—six years ago, the Korean rapper Psy had an oddball hit with “Gangnam Style,” a blaring rap song about rich girls, and a magnificent excuse to do the horse-riding dance—but the genre’s hyper-stylized aesthetic can make even its most earnest bands feel like novelty acts. (The American pop market tends to appreciate a certain rawness eking out from beneath the glam—a glimpse of persevering humanity.) K-pop stars are selected, frequently as children, for their good looks, and then aggressively minded and groomed for success by teams of producers and managers. Suggestions of licentiousness or lust are handily eradicated from their songs (and usually their live performances, too), while mistakes or ad-libs are unthinkable. The choreography alone is a thing to behold. These groups are large—sometimes up to twelve members—and they move with the kind of precision otherwise witnessed only at high-level cheerleading competitions. I found it briefly disconcerting to see studied determination applied to something like club dancing—a practice that is, at least in theory, rooted in spontaneous expression, a kind of carnality—but then I set aside my scruples and immediately started trying to learn the moves so that I, too, could look awesome.
8 South Korea
Though government censorship of South Korean music has relaxed over time, it still exists, as does industry self-censorship in response to a range of controversial topics. South Korean social mores stigmatize everything from sexual references and innuendo to references to drugs and alcohol — as well as actual illicit behavior by idols — and addressing any of these subjects can cause a song to be arbitrarily banned from radio play and broadcast. Songs dealing with serious themes or thorny issues are largely off limits, queer identity is generally only addressed as subtext, and lyrics are usually scrubbed down to fluffy platitudes. Thematically, it’s often charming and innocent, bordering on adolescent.
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